Childcare is a human right
With the cost of living rising at unprecedented rates, harder work and longer hours for working and middle class Vermonters, our children are feeling the brunt of the economic reality in the Green Mountain State. Since 2018, there has been a 60% increase in children ages 3-8 with mental, emotional, or behavioral health conditions in our state. Considering the impact of the pandemic, and increased cost of living on our youngest Vermonters, it is crucial that all children have access to high-quality child care programs.
Child care is getting more expensive, regardless of children’s age. The cost of full-time, center-based, child care for kids under the age of 5 rose across the U.S. between 2018 and 2020. The price jumped 5% to $12,411 for infants, 5% to $11,379 for toddlers, and 7% to $10,008 for 4-year-olds. As a result of these increases, Vermonters pay 25% of their annual income, on average, on childcare for toddlers— making Vermont’s costs the highest in the country. And despite this, 52% of preschoolers and 76% of infants do not have access to high quality childcare.
There are not enough high-quality child care centers, or child care programs. By some estimates, the state is short by 8,000 slots. The ones that exist have mile-long waiting lists, and the average hourly wage for child care workers is an unsustainable $14 per hour. With so many children not enrolled in child care programs, parents are struggling to join or remain in the workforce. Vermont has more job vacancies per person than any other state. Addressing the child care crisis is about more than providing high-quality early education for children. Increased wages for all workers is essential to the vitality of our economy, mental health and wellbeing for parents and children, and paying child care workers what they deserve. This brings us to a clear conclusion: we need universal high-quality publicly funded child care in Vermont, where workers are paid living wages— now.
So far, the Senate passed S.56 last month, which would pump $150 million per year in new funding into the childcare sector. Among the benefits that this funding would provide is increased pay for early childhood educators, incentives for high-quality child care, expanding the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) to make nearly twice as many families eligible for assistance in paying for childcare, as well as exempting many more families from co-pays. Needless to say, this is much-needed legislation.
This Senate Bill also includes 12 weeks of paid leave for parents, which conflicts with the Paid Family and Medical Leave bill (PFMLA) that passed out of the House earlier this year. The House version is more comprehensive— it includes bereavement leave, leave for self-employed individuals in the event of a crisis, among other necessary things. While we support S.56, PFMLA encompasses so many other types of leave, which is what Vermonters truly need. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.
So, where do we go from here? There is a widely accepted notion that while this bill is incredibly valuable, it is not enough to address the scale of this crisis. Next week’s public caucus will be addressing child care, with Sarah Kenney from Let’s Grow Kids, Michelle Fay from Voices for Vermont’s Children, and Roxanne Vought from Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. Join us tomorrow at noon at Pavilion 270 next to the State House, or on YouTube at the Legislative Caucus YouTube channel. You can watch in real time or stream it after the caucus is over.
Senate Update
Drug checking immunity for individuals and programs utilizing these life-saving services was added to H.222, as well as funding to expand the number of sites with drug testing technology statewide. This will undoubtedly save lives. Senator Vyhovsky did a walk-through on S.127, a cannabis equity bill that she is spearheading, with the House Economic Development Committee on Wednesday.
Progs in the Press
Huffpost: Trans And Nonbinary Lawmakers Urge Biden To Reconsider School Sports Proposal
The Hill: 14 trans and nonbinary legislators tell Biden they’re concerned about Title IX
LGBTQ Nation: Trans lawmakers urge Joe Biden to unequivocally support trans student-athletes
14 trans and nonbinary legislators urged the Biden administration to reconsider policy that would change Title IX, a law passed in 1972 that prohibits discrimination based on sex at federally funded schools, to allow bans on transgender students participating on sports teams in some circumstances, but prohibit outright bans. The letter reads: “‘Twenty states have now passed sports bans, often targeting a mere handful of trans athletes in their respective states (. . .) While we understand the administration may have been attempting to provide legal protections & clarity, in actuality these proposed rule changes will simply provide those who seek to deny us our right a roadmap for how to do so. (. . .) To put it plainly, there is no such thing as an acceptable ‘compromise’ that limits transgender Americans access to equal rights,” the letter continues.”
